'Green' Issues Boost Job Opportunities

A shortage of specialist skilled workers is holding an emerging - and lucrative - Irish market back.

While environmental markets are thriving across the globe, as the world wakes up to the accelerating problems of climate change, the depletion of natural resources, water shortages and growing mountains of waste, efforts to boost Ireland's environmental economy are being hampered by a skills' shortage.

Tom Whitehouse, Chief Executive of the 'green' communications company, Carbon International, said: “It’s one of the overlooked obstacles to the development of the environmental economy.

"Because it is growing at such a rate there’s no particular skill set that is not required, from accountants, to public relations, to engineers," he said.

As a result, Mr Whitehouse is battling it out to hire at the same rate that the company is growing, and says a number of his clients are in the same position.

“A lot of companies in the sector are in a state of 'growth shock'. They’ve been struggling away, and then suddenly they have to shift into another gear," he explained.

John Ward, Chief Executive of Tapbury Management, which runs the Sorne Hill wind farm in County Donegal, said: “I think there is a realisation that environmental technology will shape the industry of the twenty-first century here.”

But, this imbalance between supply and demand means salaries are improving, as Mr Ward said: “It’s a young industry and it is only in the last few years that it’s started to get going in a big way. Everybody is talking about the global downturn but it hasn’t arrived here yet.”

(BMcC)